Training Rocket Scientists

Tag: Home Noise

Home noise is a groaning sound that seems to be coming from the first floor. There are a few things that make plumbing pipes noisy and the most common is something called water hammer, then there is a ticking sound that occurs with plastic waste lines called pipe growth and the rarest is what I […]

Home noise is a groaning sound that seems to be coming from the first floor.
There are a few things that make plumbing pipes noisy and the most common is something called water hammer, then there is a ticking sound that occurs with plastic waste lines called pipe growth and the rarest is what I think you have – moaning. It is related to the venting system of the waste lines. More info at the link below.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/hom/2011/08/13-01/On-the-Level-Sewer-line-might-be-cause-of-groaning.html

ATI maintains an “email this instructor” page. Normally we expect questions about the course content or follow-up questions after the course. However we received this question from a consumer and responded to her Home Noise question. We do have an expert staff of Acoustics and Noise instructors, and this appears to be a general topic […]

ATI maintains an “email this instructor” page. Normally we expect questions about the course content or follow-up questions after the course. However we received this question from a consumer and responded to her Home Noise question. We do have an expert staff of Acoustics and Noise instructors, and this appears to be a general topic of interest.
We solicit and will post other successful approaches to reducing home noise and vibration.
Date: Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 9:26 AM
Subject: vibration and noise control course teachers
To: aticourses2@gmail.com
Dear Sir,
After reading about this course I thought I might ask the teachers if they might be able to help me to determine how to stop the rooms inside my house from vibrating with low frequency noise? The smaller the room (like a bathroom, tile shower, or closet) the worse the noise. We live in an industrial area and also an area with lots of trains that sit on tracks in a train switching area and just rumble (and consequently vibrate) all night. Also there is lots of oil and gas well drilling and compressor activity in the area. It seems that there should be a solution to stop the vibration reverberating within the house! At times the noise is only detectable inside the house and not outside. This is a brick house with single pane windows. During a several hour power outage a couple of weeks ago I could still hear the rumble, so I know it is not some electrical apparatus inside our home. I am positive we are dealing with an outside source. Would painting the wall with one of those visco elastic polymers meant to damp vibration help? I have seen Quiet Car and Silent Running as examples of these for sale. I have also read that Green Glue and another layer of sheet rock might keep out low frequency noise. Would putting bass traps in the corners of the rooms help? Would a sheet of say low durometer Sorbothane covering the window solve the problem? It is very much a problem by ruining concentration and causing lack of sleep and a high level of stress. Any help would be appreciated. All these materials are very expensive, so I would like an expert’s advice before I spend the money on them. If these products would work to solve the problem, they would be well worth it, though. At night, I have even resorted to trying to fall asleep with a shoe insert (meant for absorbing the shock of walking) covering each ear (these were made with a layer of Sorbothane). It blocked the low frequency better than anything else I had tried, and they were soft. Desperate people resort to desperate measures. I even thought about buying a wrestling head gear (low profile) and lining the ear part with a sorbothane sheet. At least I could sleep in peace, free from low frequency torment. All you inventers out there take note. According to what I read on the internet, there are many people like me that are needing relief. Any recommendations?
Sincerely,
Carolyn
1. – Jim Jenkins responded
I would say adding storm windows would attenuate the mid-frequency noise through the window.
Alternatively a white noise or background music or nature sounds box would help mask the noise. There are several commercial boxes sold to help sleep. You can test this with a small fan before buying a commercial product.
2. – Eric Ungar responded
Ear plugs might also be a good idea.
I doubt that a white noise box would help, but she might try out the concept by using his radio or TV, tuned between stations.
As one of my colleagues likes to respond to inquiries such as these: “You don’t need a noise control engineer, you need a real estate agent.”3. – Juan Arevelo responded
White noise boxes won’t help because the vibrations are much lower in frequency. Such low vibrations have wavelengths comparable to the size of the rooms and home. Therefore, you’re dealing with resonance structural vibrations. If the main problem is the noise level itself, then I recommend to purchase a pair of noise-cancellation headsets. The best ones are from Bose for about $300. You will still feel the vibrations, but at least you may be able to sleep better. Another idea is to decouple the bed from the housing structure by placing low-frequency vibration damping material between the floor and legs of the bed. Some research is needed to identify the best material to do this, but I would start with rubbers.
Juan